809 Area Code, watch out for this scam

We actually received a call last week from the 809 area code. The woman said 'Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you- get back to us quickly. I have something important to tell you.' Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. We did not respond. Then this week, we received the following e-mail:

Do Not  DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284, AND 876 from the U.S. or Canada .


This one is being distributed all over the US ... This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get you to call.

Be sure you read this and pass it on.

They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you someone has been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc..
In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from the U.S or Canada , you will apparently be charged a minimum of
$2425 per-minute.

And you'll also get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges.
WHY IT WORKS:

The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic ..
The charges afterward can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this scam.

AT&T VERIFIES IT'S TRUE :http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=6045

SNOPES VERIFIES IT'S TRUE:http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/809..asp
 

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Comments made in the year 1955!

 This Comments were made in 1955!
(That's 56 years ago!)


'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way
they are, it's going to be impossible
To buy a week's groceries for $20.00.


'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?
It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a
used one.

'If cigarettes keep going up in price,
I'm going to quit.
A quarter a pack is ridiculous.

'Did you hear the post office is thinking about
charging a dime just to mail a letter?

'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00,
Nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.

'When I first started driving,
Who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon..
Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.

'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more..
Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying
DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND,
It seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.

'I read the other day where some scientist thinks
it's possible to put a man on the moon by the
end of the century.
They even have some fellows they call astronauts
preparing for it down in Texas.

'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a
contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?
It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be
making more than the President.

'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen
appliances would be electric.
They are even making electric typewriters now.

'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays..
I see where a few married women are having to work
to make ends meet.

'It won't be long before young couples are going to
have to hire someone
To watch their kids so they can both work.

'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the
door to a whole lot of foreign business.

'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the
Government takes half our income in taxes.
I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best
people to congress.

The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather,
But I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.

'There is no sense going to Lincoln
or Omaha anymore for a weekend,
It costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.

'No one can afford to be sick anymore,
At $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for
my blood.'

'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'

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Electronic Pickpocketing

 Since I moved to Memphis, I realized that Memphis TN is on the map. Not only is it the home of the Blues, it has laid claim to being the town with the most bankruptcy, obese people, infant mortality, and one of the towns with the highest crime rate with murder leading the list.  Now they have electronic pickpocketing, this is one thing that everyone needs to watch so that they can be prepared for the inevitable!!!


 

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My Son

This is great, take a moment to read it, it will make your day!     ; The ending will surprise you.       Take my Son.....         A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, fromPicasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art..       When the  Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.         About a month later, just before Christmas,     There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..         He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'         The father   Opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'         The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.         The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.         On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'         There was silence...        Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'         But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'         Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!'       But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'       Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.       'We have $10, who will bid $20?'     'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'       The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.         They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.       The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'       A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'         The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'         'What about the paintings?'         'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.         The man who took the son gets everything!'       God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'         Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.         FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE         Please send this to ten people and back to the one who sent it to you. God Bless. If I don't get this back, I will know you really didn't read it. I got this from someone and thought the last part was really a good thought.. Too bad  that the person who sent it to me did not know 10 people who would admit to knowing the Lord.

 


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The Background Check

The Back Ground check that is used by Employer/ Human Resources serves  as a end all do all in hiring their potential employees. They must fill out paper work, interview,  and wait for their background check results.

The employer now use the background check process as a quick and efficient way to eliminate  potential employees with a history. I am not sold on a background checks that exceeds 10 years. After 10 years if you filed Bankruptcy it automatically drops off your credit, and can never be held against you... Although a crime you committed 15 years ago will influence if you will be hired today.

The definition of a a background check- It is a way to find information about someone that may not be readily available. Individuals and institutions choose to conduct background checks for a whole host of reasons. Background checks are conducted through third party institutions and are meant to provide a picture of an individuals character based on past actions and records. Background checks reveal information about an individuals professional, financial, criminal, and public history. They include everything from speeding tickets to time spent in jail, bankruptcy to employment history. 

I do think that it is important to know who the person is based on his or her past, but lets look at the facts here. Does any of you know who Frank William Abagnale, Jr is?   You see Abagnale, Jr was known for his history as a former confidence trickster, check forger, impostor, and escape artist. He became notorious in the 1960s for passing $4.5 million worth of meticulously forged checks across 26 countries over the course of five years, beginning when he was 16 years old. In the process, he claimed to have assumed no fewer than eight separate identities, impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor, a Bureau of Prisons agent, and a lawyer.

Abagnale's life story provided the inspiration for the feature film Catch Me If You Can.

In 1974, after he had served less than five years, the United States federal government released him on the condition that he would volunteer to assist the federal government in apprehending people who committed crimes of fraud and scam artists. 

  

Abagnale tried several jobs, including cook, grocer and movie projectionist, but he was fired from most of these upon having his criminal career discovered via background checks and not informing his employers that he was a former convict. Finding them unsatisfying, he approached a bank with an offer. He explained to the bank what he had done, and offered to speak to the bank's staff and show various tricks that "paperhangers" use to defraud banks. His offer included the condition that if they did not find his speech helpful, they would owe him nothing; otherwise, they would only owe him $50, with an agreement that they would provide his name to other banks. The banks were impressed by the results, and he began a legitimate life as a security consultant.^[10]

He later founded Abagnale & Associates,^[10] which advises businesses on fraud. Abagnale is now a millionaire .Abagnale also continues to advise the FBI, with whom he has associated for over 35 years, by teaching at the FBI Academy and lecturing for FBI field offices throughout the country.  

The hoax or sham that most employers put on a employment application is just that, they claim that it does not matter if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony! Although when they send you a letter for denial of employment because of you past criminal record, would it be safe to say that the company lied to you? Your dammed if you tell and dammed if you don't!

My desire to be the best pushed me to want to succeed in what ever I put my mind to. Since 1990 I worked as a sheet metal apprentice, delivered pizzas, sold life insurance, graduated from ITT Technical Institute, worked as Field Technician, Sold Cars, and worked as Loan Officer. 

Ideally speaking you would think that a crime I committed a 30 years ago would not effect me in my search for employment in the year 2010, right? Unfortunately that is a farce no consideration to who I am or what I have become even matters! Companies claim that they don't want these Bernie Madoff types working for them...  A note to the wise, Charles Ponzi (The Ponzi Scheme), and Bernie Madoff (50 billion he schemed for)  were not  career criminal . These guys did not look at a book to figure out how to be a criminal, they wrote the dam book. 

Unfortunately Background checks can help you with the average criminal or people with bad credit these guys are either already in your company or companies are getting ready to hire them!!! 

Lets look at the facts here, Background checks only help companies if that person committed a crime, or have bad credit... Nothing in a persons heart can ever be determined by a background check. Did anyone ever consider what the world would be like if the United States federal government, or the banks  had not given Frank William Abagnale, Jr a chance?

If God can forgive you for your sins and The Federal Government & bank institutions for give Abagnale, Jr for his crime, why should you as an employer say no?


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